Chapter 7:
The Pirate Hunter and the Pirate Knights
AFTER LIAM AND ROSETTA'S MATCH ended, the hangar their mobile knights
had been dispatched from was busy preparing to receive them back. People
working for House Banfield scurried about in a frenzy.
"Lady Rosetta has arrived!"
A labor machine, much like a mobile knight with no weaponry, carried
Rosetta's destroyed mobile knight into the hangar. Once it had been deposited
inside, Marie, who was in charge here, issued orders to the rest of the House
Banfield team.
"The young lady of House Claudia is officially Lord Liam's future wife.
Do not forget that treating her carelessly is akin to bringing disgrace to Lord
Liam himself."
A short while later, a small craft carrying Rosetta arrived inside the
hangar. A long red carpet had been laid out in advance and knights, soldiers, and
attendants stood in rows on either side of it. Their assembly had been hasty, so
the gathered personnel murmured anxiously.
"Hey, shouldn't she see a medic first?"
"There's one waiting in the back."
"A-a change of clothes! Someone, prepare a change of clothes!"
"Settle down, you dolts!" Marie barked at the crowd. "I'll lop your heads
off if you keep up with that noise."
The hangar quieted and the hatch of the small craft opened, stairs
extending beneath it. A frail Rosetta appeared from inside, eyes red from crying,
supported on both sides by female knights. In an honorable display of greeting,
the knights lining both sides of the carpet drew their swords in unison and raised
them high. The soldiers saluted, and the female attendants curtsied. As Liam's
future wife, Rosetta was suddenly viewed by everyone there as someone very
special.
For her part, Rosetta was rather bewildered to be greeted with the utmost
courtesy.
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Marie made her way to Rosetta and took a knee before her, bowing her
head. "We, the retainers of House Banfield, are so very glad to receive you,
Lady Rosetta."
Instead of the flustered Rosetta, in her mind, Marie saw her dear, long-
dead friend. She felt deeply moved to welcome this girl, who shared blood with
the friend whom she had failed to save from that malicious emperor.
I could never have imagined traveling through time to meet you like this.
I'm so grateful that House Claudia managed to survive these last two thousand
years. This time, I'll be here to protect you.
House Claudia had endured a different kind of torture than her own
petrification, but to Marie, Rosetta was a comrade who had suffered the same
unfair judgment. She swore in her heart with the utmost conviction that she
would protect this precious girl who was a descendant of the friend she couldn't
protect two millennia ago.
Marie smiled at Rosetta warmly. "First, we'll have a doctor do a full
physical examination, just to be on the safe side."
Lord Liam said their pairing in the tournament was lucky, and he was
right. If she'd had to fight anyone other than him, she'd probably be injured
right now, or worse.
Marie was relieved that, at a glance, she saw no obvious injuries on
Rosetta. She knew that Liam had been careful not to hurt her, and she was
thankful the girl had been delivered to her safely.
She wanted to escort her to the doctor right away, but Rosetta wasn't used
to being treated like this, and was clearly disoriented by everything that was
happening to her. Aware of that, Marie made an effort to reassure her.
She smiled kindly at Rosetta. "There's no need to be afraid, my lady.
Everyone here serves Lord Liam. You two, escort Lady Rosetta."
The two female knights who supported Rosetta directed her toward the
back of the hangar. Some of the attendants went with them, and when the group
was out of sight, the knights finally returned their swords to their scabbards.
With Rosetta out of earshot, the knights and soldiers began to whisper to
each other again.
"What was that all about?"
"I thought for sure Marie would say, 'You're not good enough for Lord
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Liam!'"
"Guess I lose the bet."
These knights, familiar with Marie's usual fiery temper, were shocked by
her demeanor toward Rosetta.
Overhearing their murmuring, Marie glared at the knights to shut them up.
"Step forward if you'd like to be minced. I'll slice you up, inch by inch."
Just then, several soldiers bolted into the hangar.
"Lady Marie, it's an emergency!"
Marie frowned at the panicked state of the soldiers. She was irritated by
the timing of it, but her gut told her this was some very bad news.
"What happened?"
"Lord Liam's been attacked by pirates!"
***
In the wastelands that made up the tournament arena, I suddenly found
myself swarmed by pirates in mobile knights that had dropped down to the
surface of the planet through the atmosphere. Unsurprisingly, among these
descending mobile knights was Derrick.
I can't believe he'd just show himself to me in his prized personal craft
like this. What an idiot.
"Liiiaaam! I've been wanting to see youuu!" Derrick yelled, no doubt
trying to intimidate me.
He was really full of bravado today, considering how he'd been skulking
around quietly ever since I'd slugged him that one time. I'd even paid a few
visits to the Second Campus just to see if I might run into him, but every time I
did, he must have been careful to stay out of my sight. It was easier for him to
feel confident today with all those friends of his around him.
I replied, "You're not going to run like you usually do? I figured you were
so scared of me you'd probably scamper off today too."
I aimed to provoke him, and true to his short temper, he immediately
exploded with rage.
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"It's gutsy of you to act tough in a situation like this, I'll give you that!
Don't think you're gonna get an easy death here, Liam, and no help is coming
for you! I've bought off the tournament security, but that's not all... Those guys
who keep watch over House Claudia don't think too highly of you either!"
Being so excited, Derrick failed to provide any further details. Help from
the primary school would be late, I guess. And House Claudia's observers were
now my enemy? Come to think of it, Brian said something about them too,
didn't he? They must have been working with Derrick now, because if House
Claudia ceased to be, they'd be out of a job.
What idiots. A seriously bad move.
"Oh, yeah?" I replied. "Anyway, is this everyone?"
"Huh?"
The mobile knights surrounding me didn't even number a hundred.
"I'm asking if this is all the people you brought. It so happens that my
trusty Avid here was just upgraded, you see. I thought you guys would make for
a good trial run, so to speak, but I'm not sure there are enough of you for that. Is
this all a baron's capable of?"
Further enraged by my remarks of being disappointed, Derrick quickly
gave orders to the pirates. How shameful, a noble working with pirates. Well,
they're birds of a feather. Makes sense they'd get along.
"D-don't you dare mock me! Kill him!"
At Derrick's command, the pirates' mobile knights bore down on me.
From their movements, the machines appeared to be higher performing than the
average mobile knight. They were thinly disguised as pirate crafts, but on the
inside, I bet they were brand new models.
"These will make for a decent trial run, after all."
I gripped the cockpit's control rods and directed the third arm on the back
of my craft to draw my weapon. I freed the great sword from its scabbard there
with a loud, metallic scraping sound. The third arm brought the sword far
enough forward that my right manipulator could take hold of it, and then the
third arm released the sword and retracted.
One might think that such an enormous sword would place too great a
burden on the machine's joints, but when I took a mighty swing, it smashed all
the enemies who had begun approaching me to pieces. It was a violent
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movement, but the Avid's joints gave no complaint. This sword, too, was a
massive hunk of rare metals fashioned by Nias' team, so the enemies didn't even
leave a scratch on it.
"Isn't that something? The joints don't creak either, no matter how much I
move!"
It seemed that no matter how hard I pushed it, the new Avid would be able
to handle any move I wanted it to make. I was relieved to see that the
improvements I requested were a total success.
"Guess I'll tell Nias she did a good job when I get back."
While I took a moment to consider paying the Seventh Weapons Factory a
bonus, another wave of pirates who still didn't understand the difference in our
machines' abilities came swarming at me.
"Whoa, come to think of it, this is my first ground battle."
The Avid's colossal body moved with fluid grace as I controlled it, lifting
my sword up high before swinging it down violently. When it hit the ground,
earth sprang up as if there'd been an explosion. The pirate craft I'd struck on the
way down was flattened to the point of being unrecognizable.
I turned toward an enemy that had maneuvered around behind me and
swung my blade sideways this time. The Avid easily bisected this mobile knight,
which would probably be classified as a mid-sized unit.
I just kept swinging my sword around me, this way and that, and my
enemies were destroyed one after another.
"Fragile. They're too fragile!"
The Avid was on a rampage, but rather than expending energy, it only
seemed to become more energized, as if it hadn't had enough action for its
tastes. Inside the cockpit, the chorus of activation noises sounded like the growl
of a savage beast.
"That's it, Avid! Let's try this next!"
It felt as though I was only battling Derrick's goons to confirm the Avid's
capabilities, not fighting for my life. It was more like the pirates were offering
up their lives to me as fodder for my machine's workout. These pirates seemed
stronger than the ones I usually fought against, but for the new and improved
Avid, they just weren't worthy adversaries.
The Avid swung its monstrous sword about like it weighed next to
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nothing, and no matter how many shells or laser blasts its armor took, the attacks
didn't leave a single mark on it. I just swung my sword to destroy my
adversaries, crashing through their own swords and shields as if they weren't
even there.
All around me, mobile knights were chopped into pieces, sent flying, and
flattened. Even all the dirt and dust that was kicked up in blinding clouds didn't
do a thing to hinder me.
"There!"
A master of the Way of the Flash would never lose track of an opponent,
even while blinded. The Avid wasn't about to let enemies of this level get away
either.
As I crushed the opponents around me one by one, naturally some of them
finally wised up and tried to flee. There were more crafts showing their backs to
me now, despite the way their own allies were still fighting.
"Hey now! You don't think I'm gonna let you get away that easy, do
you?"
I fired the cables contained within the Avid's shoulder shields, and the
claws at the ends of the cables grabbed the fleeing enemies by their backs. As I
approached the two craft I'd latched onto, over our communication link, I heard
a pilot's panic-stricken cries.
"N-no! I don't want to die! P-please, spare me!"
"Pretty ballsy thing to say after you tried to kill me instead. No, I think
each and every one of you is going to die here."
One of the cables slowly coiled around the enemy's torso, crushing it until
eventually it sliced the craft in half. The other claw held tight to its captive, not
letting go. I pulled a trigger on one of the control rods and the claw's pile bunker
shot into the craft, resulting in an eruption of flames. When the gunpowder
detonated and propelled the spike forward, the enemy's craft burst apart at the
impact. With the claw now empty, it flew back to me, its cable winding back
into its shoulder shield.
"These new weapons are great, too!"
As I laughed loudly, more enemies attempted to escape.
"Come on, I told you I wouldn't let you get away, didn't I?"
The Avid's huge frame kicked off from the ground and grabbed the head
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of a fleeing craft. It had moved hundreds of meters in a single tremendous leap,
blowing away all the enemies who lay in its path. Even a simple tackle from the
Avid was a formidable attack to its enemies.
Holding the enemy's head up with one hand, I dropped my great sword
into the unit's back and lifted the whole craft up.
"It's no use fleeing. Now, let's continue. You guys had better entertain
me, like your lives depend on it!"
The pirates went quiet. Even Derrick, who had been so confident with the
numbers he'd brought with him, was no longer blustering bravely.
***
Several hundred pirate ships looked down at the arena from space,
watching on their monitors as the Avid mowed down their new, cutting-edge
mobile knights.
"Is that thing a monster?" someone asked in awe.
"I-it's a demon," someone else muttered.
Liam, cheerfully bringing down their fellow pirates with his
overwhelming strength, looked like a demon to them. At first, they had thought
Liam was just bluffing when he acted so confident in the face of such
overwhelming numbers, but now they were learning just how wrong they were.
All those brand-new mobile knights were turned to scrap, one after
another. Others watched on the monitors as the Avid grabbed two crafts with the
claws attached to its shields and swung them around. Liam sent them crashing
into their allies to destroy them, and then shot the Avid's pile bunkers into them
to smash them to bits.
"How the hell were they supposed to win against something like that?"
The captain of the lead ship finally understood their disadvantage and
shouted out the order for his men to flee. "R-retreat! If we stay here, we'll catch
the eye of the Pirate Hunter!"
The captain had decided to abandon Derrick, but a guest on his bridge
stopped him. It was one of the Observers who had joined forces with Derrick.
"You're going to run? That's not what we agreed on. The agreement was
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that you would kill Liam here!"
The Observer lunged at him and pointed at the monitor, but the captain
shoved him away. On the screen, the Avid was still destroying the pirates'
mobile knights.
"How the hell are we supposed to take that thing out?! W-we never
wanted to fight Liam in the first place! If you guys want him dead so badly,
assassinate him or something yourselves!"
"We only asked you because we already tried that!" The Observer was so
panicked that he let slip that their assassination attempt had failed. "If we could
kill him, we would've done it already!"
On the chaotic bridge, a voice that didn't belong to either of them came
from an unseen source.
"You made an attempt on Master Liam's life, eh? Well, we can't have
that, can we?"
A group of men dressed in black and wearing masks emerged from the
pirates' own shadows. They swarmed up out of the floor and began slaughtering
the bridge crew without a moment's hesitation. Their practiced movements
marked them as professionals, but they also seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"Aaaaah!" Terrified, the captain pulled a gun from a hip holster and
started firing. His laser pistol shot the masked men, but each streaking beam
only lit their clothing red for an instant instead of doing any real damage.
The captain cried and screamed as Kukuri came at him. Grabbing the
captain with a large hand, Kukuri slammed him against the floor.
"Such weaklings. You know, back in my day, pirates had a bit more
backbone. Now then, I have some questions I need to ask you."
By this point, all of the Observers on the bridge had been bound by
Kukuri's men. One of them cried out, "W-we're officials of the Empire, you
know! If you harm us, you won't get away with it!"
Kukuri's men finished off the last of the bridge crew and crowded around
the frightened Observers, watching them with smiles below their masks.
Kukuri pinned the captain down with a foot on his chest and stroked his
own chin with a massive hand as if deep in thought. He replied to the Observer,
"Well, we wouldn't want any trouble, would we? But the thing is... We happen
to hate dogs of the Empire, like you."
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One of Kukuri's snickering subordinates thrust a knife into the thigh of the
Observer who had spoken. He stabbed the man in a particularly painful place
and then twisted the blade for good measure.
"Yooow!" the official howled in agony.
Kukuri grabbed this Observer by the head. "Whoops, that was a rude thing
my subordinate did there, wasn't it? It's not easy having such hotheads working
for me, but you understand how they feel, don't you? After all, you like
inflicting pain too, do you not? You're the so-called darkness of the Empire,
aren't you? You must see this sort of thing every day."
The Observer screamed with each twist of the knife, but no one could
move to save him.
Kukuri looked up at the main monitor. "Ah, there they are. You people
really are naive if you thought we wouldn't anticipate your little pirate attack
idea."
The monitor revealed that a fleet from House Banfield had just arrived and
had already begun taking out all the other pirate ships one by one.
"H-help me," the injured Observer pleaded, crying.
"Oh, come now," Kukuri responded, his tone oddly gentle. "You were
calling yourselves the darkness of the Empire, so you shouldn't be surprised that
bad things can happen, right?" To his men he said, "Hey, boys, these people are
still obeying the orders of that man who had us petrified. Why don't you take
your time showing them what real darkness is?"
"S-stop! Please, don't!"
Kukuri's men swarmed around the Observers. Their weapons glimmered
ominously, and the Observers' voices grew more frantic as they begged for
mercy.
Meanwhile, Kukuri returned to the captain, who still lay on the floor.
"I-I'll tell you anything! Please, spare me!"
"Oh, we've already got all the information we need, you see. If you want
to do something for me, though, you can get on the communicator and order
your men to board those new mobile knights of yours and fly them down to the
planet. Lord Liam will take care of the rest."
Once the pirate ship was under their control, Kukuri's group had pirates
board the new mobile knights and take them down to the planet. If the pirates
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fled or refused, they were killed. The only option they had was to fight Liam.
The captain gave his order, not letting on that he was a hostage, and the
new pirate craft descended to the planet, where all that awaited them was the
Avid. On the bridge monitor, they watched as Liam toyed with each new craft
that engaged him. The pirates' mobile knights were destroyed in succession,
piling up in heaps on the ground. The rampaging Avid was so radically superior
in its performance that it seemed like a different type of machine entirely from
what the pirates operated. In fact, it looked less like a machine and more like a
kind of demon king one might read about in fairy tales.
"S-spare me!" the captain again pleaded, now that he'd obeyed Kukuri's
demands.
"What was that?"
"Please, I... I had no choice! This was all Derrick's orders! I never wanted
to pick a fight with Liam!"
Kukuri gave a throaty chuckle at the captain's words. "Too bad you're so
obedient, then. And that's Lord Liam to you. We can't have pirates showing
such disrespect, can we? Oh, but we don't spare pirates, so, well...goodbye."
With that, Kukuri stomped on the captain, crushing his head.
***
In a hangar near the arena, House Claudia's Observers were becoming
increasingly nervous, as they were unable to get in contact with their agents
aboard the lead pirate vessel. They had come up with a plan to kill Liam, but it
was being completely thwarted.
"Hey, what's going on out there?!"
"Those pirates are so weak. They'll never be able to take out Liam!"
"We should just find Rosetta and take her as a hostage!"
The Observers were starting to panic. After all, the overconfident Derrick
had foolishly spilled their involvement. At this point, they were in just as much
danger as the pirates. They knew that if Liam's people found out they had helped
conspire to kill him, the whole lot of them could be exterminated.
Suddenly, they heard the clacking of heels approaching them, and the
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Observers whirled in that direction. The source of the footsteps revealed itself to
be a female knight with distinctive lilac hair.
"Wh-who are you?!" one of the Observers demanded, pointing a weapon
at her for good measure, just in case she'd overheard their conversation.
However, in the next moment, both the hand holding the gun and the man's head
went flying.
The Observer's body hit the ground in a fountain of blood and the female
knight stood over him, holding a sword in each hand. The swords were unique,
their grips in the shape of pistols, and their blades a vibrating blur. Jagged teeth,
seemingly made of pure light, spun around the outside of the blades like those of
a chainsaw. She lowered one of these energized blades to touch the floor and a
harsh metal scraping sound rang out, sparks flying from the contact. These
swords looked far more sinister than typical blades, with their fearsome ability to
tear through her enemies.
The corners of the female knight's mouth curled into a sinister little smile
as she stared at the Observers. "I was surprised to learn that fool emperor's
orders are still being carried out two thousand years later. I still remember his
laughing face as he watched us turn to stone. I truly regret not being able to
grind that smug face of his to a pulp under my heel."
The Observers couldn't quite absorb what this knight was saying, but the
one thing they understood clearly was that she meant to kill them.
Hoping to take action before she did, the men all rushed at the female
knight at once.
"Get her!" one of them cried. "One woman alone can't—"
"And, that's two," said the knight.
The observer who made light of the female knight was the next to fall
victim to her chainsaws. The female knight wasn't even doing anything special
as she moved. She simply sidestepped a volley of laser beams fired at her and
lunged forward.
The observers shot their ray guns at her, but she dodged and thrust out her
chainsaws at them instead.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaa!" The Observer who'd begun to speak convulsed in agony,
a chainsaw blade thrust deeply into his midsection, its vibration only heightening
his pain. Disinterest was clear on the female knight's face.
The other observers turned pale at the treatment their ally was receiving.
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"Come on, you can give me nicer screams than that, can't you? I've been
waiting for two thousand years...just hoping a day like this would finally come!"
The female knight tore her sword free from the impaled Observer and
leapt at her next target. Agile as a cat, she danced through another spray of
lasers, slaughtering the Observers with her sinister weapons.
One of the men wailed, "W-we were granted a prestigious post, to carry
out the late emperor's decree! Opposing us is the same as opposing the late
emperor himself!"
In response, the female knight grinned. "That's why I'm killing you! I'll
send you to the same place that bastard's rotting in right now! And when you get
there, be sure to let him know that Marie has returned!"
The Observer who said those things about the late emperor was the next to
meet his end, bisected vertically by Marie. Seeing their companion torn in half,
some of the Observers tossed their weapons away and raised their hands in
gestures of surrender.
"It's too late to drop your weapons now. I'm going to send every last one
of you dogs to your master's side! You'll get to go see the emperor you swore
your loyalty to. That's your greatest wish, isn't it?"
The Observers trembled. At this point, they finally realized that the
woman before them was one of the Imperial knights who had been petrified two
thousand years ago.
"She's Marie of the Three Knights!" one of them cried out in realization, a
moment before Marie swept the head from his shoulders.
Seeing this, the remaining Observers attempted to flee, bolting for the
hangar's exits, only to find that the rest of the knights who had been petrified
along with Marie were waiting in the doorways. The other knights joined the
slaughter, until the last of the Observers was cut down.
Standing in a pool of blood, Marie spread her arms wide and laughed.
"I'm so happy I get to serve Lord Liam. My two thousand years of agony all led
me to this moment. This is fate!"
***
Enemies had stopped descending from the sky.
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"Guess that's it."
The remnants of the mobile knights I'd destroyed lay all around me, and
the only foe of mine still left alive was Derrick.
I said to him, "Well, you're the only one left."
"S-spare me! I'll do anything! I'll do anything you want!"
Derrick must have been rather forlorn now that he was by himself. It
seemed that he had lost all of his former bravado.
"You'll do anything?"
I thrust my sword into the ground, wondering just how Derrick was
planning to amuse me when I detected something approaching at a fast speed.
Derrick's mobile knight pointed at me, and he laughed over the
communication link. "Dumbass! You thought I was just waiting here to be
executed? While you were wreaking havoc, I was calling in some special
contacts of mine!"
Derrick must have had some more mobile knights transported here. A
number of mobile knights were rapidly dropping toward me, and I had the
impression they were different from the enemies I'd fought thus far.
I hadn't asked for anything, but Derrick began to explain them to me
anyway.
"They're pirate knights, Liam. And super infamous ones with huge
bounties out for them. Speaking of bounties, you've got a bounty on your head
among pirates too. When I told these guys I'd give them a nice bonus in addition
to that, they came running to hunt you down."
"People with reputations, eh?" I licked my lips in excitement.
Three craft appeared right in front of me, but my monitors confirmed one
more at a further distance away. This one fired at the Avid from long range, but
the laser was dispersed by my barrier before it could actually touch my machine.
Meanwhile, the other three machines rushed the Avid with their weapons drawn.
I heard a voice boast, "I'll be able to live in luxury for the rest of my life
after I kill Pirate Hunter Liam!"
These pilots were much more skilled than the ones I'd just fought. As one
of them leapt at me, using tricky maneuvers, I dislodged my sword from the
ground and met his attack.
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"That's the only reason you're challenging me? You should value your
life over money."
As I quickly cut down the first attacker, the other two tried to come in at
me from both sides in a pincer attack. I held my great sword low and
concentrated.
"Flash."
The Avid couldn't replicate my Way of the Flash technique completely,
but its sword slash was still fast enough to smash both machines to bits.
I noted, "Still can't perform the Flash with the great sword, huh?"
The quality of my special move was rather lacking due to gravity, the
weapon, and a few other factors. Hmm, maybe it'd work better with a katana?
"Well, I guess this was good enough for a trial run."
I'd put considerable strain on the Avid's joints, but that hadn't proved an
issue in its current state. No complaints there.
I destroyed the three crafts attacking me and saw that the distant one was
attempting to flee. I lined up the left hand of the Avid with the fleeing craft and a
magic circle manifested in front of its palm. Other circles layered on top of that
and entwined to form one complex circle.
"You thought I'd let you get away? You're just one more prey for the
Avid!"
I pulled a trigger on my control rod and a laser beam shot from the Avid's
hand mixed with the magic circle to form an arrow of light that rushed off into
the distance. It pursued the fleeing pirate's mobile knight and plunged into it,
resulting in a huge explosion.
"The new output is incredible! Guess it was worth all that money I paid."
As I stood there laughing in satisfaction, this time it was Derrick's turn to
attempt fleeing.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"S-stay away from meee!"
Derrick's mobile knight drew a firearm and took a shot at the Avid, but it
did no damage at all. I raised my great sword behind me and brought it down.
Derrick blocked the strike with his own sword, which was covered in gaudy
ornaments. The blades scraped against each other and sparks flew.
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A holographic window appeared above my communications panel, and in
it, I saw Derrick's desperate face.
"P-please, let me go! I'll do anything!"
Derrick clearly had no more backup plans, because he was pleading for his
life in a truly comical way. At this point, did he seriously think I would let him
go if he begged for his life? I couldn't help toying with him, though.
"You'll do anything, huh..." I repeated.
Derrick's terrified expression eased up somewhat. He must have believed
I was willing to negotiate.
"Just spare my life! I don't want to die. I'll never defy you again. I
promise I won't have anything at all to do with you! And I can get anything you
want!"
"Don't want to die, eh? And anything I want? Like?"
I gave him some hope and Derrick started to blabber on.
"Whatever you want! Money, women, anything! I-I know... What about
elixirs? You could always use those, right? I've got tons of 'em!"
He's got elixirs, does he? I thought he was just a lowly baron, but if what
he said was true, there might be some worth to him.
"Well, I do want those."
"I've got this special device... I can make as many as I want with it. If you
let me go, I'll get you all the elixirs you need."
I felt great watching Derrick beg for his life, but to be honest, the deal he
proposed didn't sway me one bit. Elixirs? Sure, I did want them, but Derrick had
tried to kill me, and that was something I couldn't forgive. Anyway, the Guide
always saw to it that I got anything I wanted. Just like the alchemy box and that
mysterious sword, the things I needed always ended up in my hands somehow.
There was no need for me to rely on a pathetic guy like this now. I had enough
money to buy my elixirs anyway.
"Mmm, yeah, I think I'd rather you give me your life instead."
"W-wait! That's not what you said before!"
"Oh? I don't remember making any promises."
In my past life, I was deceived by my wife and debt collectors and went
through hell. None of them had kept their promises, so now as an evil lord, it
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was my turn to say whatever I liked to get what I wanted.
I ramped up the power of the Avid and took hold of Derrick's mobile
knight, starting to crush it. His sword snapped, and the joints of his machine's
legs blew out from the weight bearing down on them.
"You're seriously gonna kill me?!" Derrick wailed in his cockpit, his face
a pathetic mess. "You made it sound like you were gonna spare me!"
"Yeah, well I was lying. I never had any reason to keep you alive. It'll be
a pain if your people use an elixir to bring you back to life, so I'll have to be real
thorough about killing you."
"N-nooooo!"
"Hey, it's your fault for picking a fight with me."
I lifted up my great sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the cockpit,
right where Derrick was seated.
I thrust the sword downward.
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I lifted up Derrick's craft with the blade still stuck through it, and just
then, communications with the primary school were restored. Talk about perfect
timing. Had they been restored any sooner, the match probably would have been
called off before I could kill Derrick. When I thought about it that way, I was
seriously lucky.
With communications restored, staff from the primary school looked on in
horror at the state of the arena.
"S-send a rescue unit right away!" one of the teachers cried.
They seemed to be pretty panicked. I didn't blame them.
"There's no point, sir. My opponent's already dead."
I had crushed the cockpit quite thoroughly. To demonstrate the fact, I
smashed Derrick's craft against the ground with my sword.
Everyone accepted that if you entered the tournament, you risked death
just by participating. This being the case, Derrick's death wasn't my
responsibility. I didn't have anything to fear from some baron in the sticks if his
family wanted revenge.
I stomped on Derrick's craft for good measure. "This was all you could
manage, even with all those buddies of yours, huh? I guess small fry are still
small fry, even if they band together."
I laughed, and the teachers looking on were speechless. Their shocked
states were only natural, since the wreckage of hundreds of mobile knights lay
around me.
The Avid had proved to me that it was much stronger than before, and I
was more than satisfied. This had been a great test run, and I figured I could
thank Derrick for that, at least.
***
"Why'd they pit those two against each other anyway?" someone in the
spectator seats muttered.
It was an honest question. House Berkeley had gained notoriety as Pirate
Nobles, and House Banfield had done the same as Pirate Hunters. It would have
been obvious to anyone that if the two fought, something tragic would occur.
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In the somber silence that followed the revelation that Derrick had
perished, the spectators from the weapons factories desperately tried to hold
back their laughter. Nias in particular looked like she was about to burst out in
guffaws, but was doing everything she could to hold it in.
"I can't believe I didn't get to see the First Weapons Factory's new
models get the crap beaten out of them by the Avid. Anyway, the difference in
technical prowess is perfectly clear now. It's been proven now... Our mobile
knights are the strongest out there."
Engineers from other weapons factories were reacting in much the same
way...except for those from the First, who were hastily leaving the spectator
coliseum.
Wallace was disgusted by Nias's glee. "This is why I don't like engineers
or scientists. Don't you see where this is going? Liam's basically just declared
war against House Berkeley."
Kurt respected Wallace's apprehension, but he didn't doubt Liam's
chances one bit. "If a war it is, Liam will win. He's unbeatable, after all."
Eila blushed, seeing Kurt believe so firmly in his friend. "Yeah, I trust
Liam will win, too."
Wallace wanted to believe the two of them, but he couldn't prevent tears
from filling his eyes. "Really? Are you sure? 'Cause my life will be over if he
loses too."
Wallace's life was riding on Liam's victory, but Eila seemed more
focused on the here and now. "Anyway, you think they'll continue the
tournament?"
Right then, an announcement came over the loudspeakers to let the
spectators know that the tournament had been canceled, just as Eila feared. After
what had just happened, this development came as no surprise to those in
attendance. Nevertheless, Nias's shoulders slumped with disappointment.
"That's too bad... I wanted to witness more of the Avid in action."
Seeing Nias's genuine disappointment, Wallace again expressed his
disgust about the people around Liam. "How can you say something like that in
a situation like this? Honestly, only weirdos seem to hang out with Liam." He
shook his head exasperatedly.
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***
In her room at the primary school's student dorms, Rosetta woke up in
unfamiliar pajamas. She put a hand to her chest and an attendant called out to
her.
"Is something the matter, Lady Rosetta?"
She looked toward the attendant but wasn't sure what to say to her. "Huh?
Uh... Err..."
The reason she was so tongue-tied was that she wasn't used to a lifestyle
that involved having attendants. Why was this servant here in the room with her?
Where was she, anyway? The attendant quickly answered these questions before
she could ask them.
"As you were feeling unwell, I was entrusted with looking after you.
We've received permission from the primary school to attend to you, so don't
worry about that."
Rosetta nodded timidly. Her ringlets had been undone, so her hair was
now simply long and straight. She had an understanding of her present
circumstances now, but there was one thing she was still uncertain of. Had all
that transpired merely been a dream? A part of her feared that it had.
"A-and the marriage?"
"Her Lady Duchess Claudia has approved of the engagement," the
attendant explained. "You will be wed to Lord Liam when the two of you have
completed your education, my lady."
Rosetta was still struggling to digest all that was happening to her.
Engagement? Her family held the rank of duke, but rank was all they had. Since
she had nothing else to offer him, the only reason Liam would want to have
anything to do with her was so he would become the duke.
"I-I see. Lord Liam is doing all this just so he can shift our peerage to
himself so he can become a duke."
The attendant shook her head. "There's no reason for House Banfield to
take on massive debt just for the sake of peerage. You are aware of that, aren't
you, Lady Rosetta?"
Peerage alone was meaningless. Rosetta knew that better than anyone.
"But I don't understand. Why would he go to all this trouble to take me as
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his wife?"
The attendant giggled.
"Wh-what is it?"
"I must apologize for being envious, Lady Rosetta. You see, you are the
first woman Lord Liam has ever desired so fervently."
Rosetta lowered her head, cheeks flushed, not having expected to hear
something like that. This attendant would have her believe that Liam desired her,
not her peerage, enough that he was willing to shoulder her family's crushing
debt. Rosetta had never imagined a man would court her for that reason.
"A-are you certain?"
"Quite certain. It's all his retainers ever worry about—in his domain, he's
never shown any interest in women."
Rosetta allowed the servant to help her lay back down in bed.
"Please rest some more, my lady."
The primary school was in no state to hold classes after the incident
Derrick had caused. No date had been given yet for classes to resume, so Rosetta
was told she could take it easy in the meantime.
She let her eyes close slowly.
If this is only a dream, then I'm not ready to wake up yet. If I do have to
wake up, I want to keep dreaming for a little while longer...
***
In a conference room at the primary school, I was being grilled by the
staff. Well, I say grilled, but it was my retainers beside me who were the ones
responding to the teachers' lecture. In fact, my loyal retainers were practically
intimidating these people on my behalf. Marie in particular was quite amusing.
"There was no reason to go so far as killing him."
And what do you think Marie said in response to that nonsense from one
of the teachers?
"Just turn the other cheek when someone tries to kill you? Is that the sort
of soft nonsense you teach here, where you're supposed to be instilling a noble's
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dignity in the children of the Empire? You should applaud Lord Liam for
showing a display of backbone to the other students. Besides, his opponent could
only participate in the tournament by accepting the risk that he might lose his
life, isn't that right? There's no issue whatsoever, then."
Marie had a retort for each of the teachers' criticisms, and her
subordinates backed her up, saying it was Derrick's fault for losing, not mine for
winning. Meanwhile, all I had to do was drink tea and watch the exchange play
out.
This is what it's like to win...to be a villain.
"B-but there will be people who hold a grudge against House Banfield
because of this."
With those words, I decided maybe it was time for me to say something.
"What of it? I'm used to being resented by people who are the ones in the
wrong. What's one more stupid grudge to add to the list? Why did I have to put
up with his abuse in the first place? This only happened because you didn't stop
Derrick before things went this far."
I laid the blame squarely on the teachers of the primary school, and I
talked down to them even though I was merely their charge. None of the
teachers took umbrage with that. It seemed that the hefty donations I'd made to
the school carried some weight.
Marie nodded. "You're exactly right, Lord Liam." She truly was the
perfect yes-man.
"Lord Liam, we understand the circumstances, and it is true that the
primary school is also at fault for this incident. We just mean to say that your
response was excessive. We're simply asking for a little remorse..."
I snorted when the stuck-up headmaster of the school asked me for
remorse. "Remorse?" Why beat around the bush? "How much?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm asking how much you want. How much money will it take to shut
these incompetent mouths I'm listening to?"
Several of the teachers shot up from their seats in anger, but one glare
from Marie sat them back down. She was more impressive than I'd originally
given her credit for. Some of the teachers were even trembling.
Amused as I was by the situation, I had to remind myself I still hadn't
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graduated yet and had to be at this school for a while longer. If I incurred the
teachers' wrath, it was sure to affect my remaining time on campus. I decided to
play nice.
"Forgive me for getting carried away. I know this apology isn't enough to
properly express my remorse, so next year I'll double my contribution to the
school's coffers to make up for what I've done."
"B-but that won't solve anything."
What? That's not enough? Are you kidding me? I said double! How much
money do you think I'm willing to donate to this stupid school?
"Hey now, are you really complaining after all the money I've donated?
What's the problem? Are you saying a fine isn't sufficient punishment for my
supposed transgressions?"
The principal raised his hand to quiet his clamoring teachers. "We merely
wish to issue you a stern warning for this incident, my lord. I hope you can
understand that."
So they're letting me off the hook, but they want to make a show of doing
their job by scolding me. My money is enough to shut them up, but they're too
embarrassed to come out and admit that, so they're keeping up appearances by
giving me this tongue-lashing. Their hypocrisy makes me sick, but I do like that
my money has this sway over them. I can make as much money as I want with my
alchemy box, after all. This doesn't hurt my wallet one bit.
"Then if we're finished here, I'll be going."
I stood and left the conference room, my people following after me. At the
door, I glanced back and saw the teachers all holding their heads in
consternation.
***
After Liam had left the conference room, Mr. John crossed his arms.
He doesn't mince words. And there was nothing I could say back to him.
Liam had told them that if the staff had been more on top of things, none
of this would have happened, and his accusation caused the gathered teachers to
feel at fault.
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Liam's words had stung the principal just as much. "I'd planned to give
Baron Berkeley a stern warning..."
All Liam had really done was stave off the sparks falling on him. The
school couldn't turn a blind eye to Derrick's behavior, and they had no intent to
place all the blame for the situation on Liam. However, it was also true that
Liam had egged Derrick on, and they felt as though they had to scold him for
that.
"It's no wonder he's called a child prodigy," the principal said with an
exhausted sigh and his feelings clear on his face. "He's got it more together than
most adults."
Mr. John wanted to sigh, too. Sure, delinquents are trouble, but it can be
hard handling students who are capable beyond their years too.
***
That night, I went out into the courtyard of the student dorms and swung
around my super heavy wooden sword. Rather than rely solely on the school's
physical education program, I had to take the time to train like this occasionally
so my own particular skills wouldn't get rusty.
While I stood toweling away my sweat, Kukuri poked his head out from
behind a tree.
"What is it?"
"We've finished our investigation into those observing the duchess's
family, Master Liam. The organization had grown larger than we expected. It
seems they'd done some digging into other families' weaknesses instead of just
tormenting House Claudia."
I guess they were up to more than we thought.
"They had a lot of time on their hands, huh?"
"We've seized all of their records. What would you like us to do with
them?"
If my team had managed to get ahold of all their records this quickly, it
probably didn't amount to anything too impressive. Even in larger than expected
numbers, I figured these guys ultimately hadn't been capable of taking that much
action. All Kukuri said was "a little larger than we expected," too. Anyway, I
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wasn't especially interested in the weaknesses of other houses. If I wanted to
threaten someone, I could investigate them myself, and I'd probably just threaten
them with my military might. The gathered information didn't pique my interest,
but wouldn't it be a waste to just throw it out?
"Send their records home and ask Brian for your orders with it. Tell him to
make good use of it."
"As you wish."
Kukuri faded into the shadows and vanished. The magic he and his men
used seemed awfully handy.
"Well, guess I'll sweat a little more. I'm really out of shape..."
I noticed when I was piloting the Avid that the machine performed better
than I did. I'd have to work on whipping myself back into shape for a bit.
***
Rosetta paid a visit to the boys' dorm.
"Erm... This is it, right?"
She stood in front of Liam's room, nervous for some reason. Her heart
was pounding, and she was anxious about her appearance. She kept touching her
ringlets and making sure her clothing was neat. She had taken a deep breath and
was about to knock, but Kurt called out to her in passing by.
"Need something with Liam?"
"Huhyah?!"
Kurt apologized for scaring Rosetta into emitting her strangely adorable
shriek.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?"
Rosetta hunched over and blushed, ashamed of her outburst. "I-I'm fine."
"O-oh. Err, you're looking for Liam, right?"
As Kurt cocked his head, Rosetta told him why she was there.
"Th-that's right... There's something I wish to discuss with him. I want
him to do something about these people."
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Standing behind Rosetta were the two female knights assigned to her by
House Banfield. Several attendants had also been caring for her, but all of it was
making her uncomfortable. These women had been dispatched from Liam's
domain in order to care for her for a short while, and they intimidated any men
who dared to get anywhere near her. As Rosetta was Liam's fiancée, they were
extremely wary of any other men in her vicinity. Kurt's presence, of course, was
allowed, as he was Liam's friend.
"Huh? They didn't tell you where Liam was?"
Kurt looked at the female knights. One of them frowned and said, "She
didn't ask us. We didn't know what she was going to the boys' dorm for."
Rosetta wasn't used to having underlings, so she hadn't even thought to
ask her bodyguards to direct her to Liam. Realizing that, she blushed and looked
away.
"I-is he not here?"
Kurt volunteered to take Rosetta where Liam was, his voice gentle. "I
know where he'll be at this time. I'll take you to him."
Thus, Kurt guided Rosetta to the courtyard of the boys' dorm. Large as it
was, the courtyard was more like a park, complete with a fountain and benches.
There, they spotted Liam standing under a large tree, wooden sword in his
hands. Rosetta started walking over to him, but Kurt stopped her.
"You should stay back for now."
"Why?"
Kurt pointed at the bisected leaves that lay all around Liam. When they
saw that, Rosetta's bodyguards all gulped. His skills must have been impressive
even to these highly trained women.
"It's dangerous to be near Liam when he's concentrating like this," Kurt
cautioned Rosetta. "He doesn't like being interrupted either, so you're better off
waiting until he's finished."
"What do you mean?"
Rosetta was left confused when Kurt told her she might be cut, while
Liam simply stood there unmoving, holding his sword.
Kurt scratched his head and laughed without really explaining it. "It's
weird, right? I was completely speechless the first time I saw it too. Liam's only
gotten this far by pushing himself for many long years. Sure, he's got innate
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talent, but he works harder than anyone to improve it."
When Rosetta saw Liam working hard in spite of his natural talent, she
realized that he wasn't the sort of person she believed him to be.
It's not that he could do everything from the beginning just because of his
talent... Am I just jealous of someone who works this hard?
She had thought that Liam could get results without even trying, and she'd
envied him for that, but now that Kurt had told her how Liam never neglected to
put in effort, she was embarrassed by how narrow-minded she had been.
I never thought there could be someone who embodied my ideals so
completely. To think I've been so envious of him... How pathetic of me.
Rosetta turned to leave, too ashamed to even show her face to Liam.
"You're not going to talk to him?" Kurt asked.
"Not right now. I can't show myself to him like this."
"Oh."
***
At House Banfield's mansion, Serena had urgently contacted the prime
minister. A tense expression took the place of her usual composed demeanor. In
her hand was a storage medium containing the documents House Banfield had
obtained from the Observers.
The prime minister's face appeared on the communications monitor.
"What's the emergency?"
Serena gave him only a quick greeting before getting right to the matter at
hand.
"It's these documents that House Banfield obtained from the Observers.
Not only were they monitoring House Claudia, but it seems they were engaging
in some manner of espionage as well. Their rats apparently got into some rather
secure places."
She transmitted some of the documents over to him, and the prime
minister went pale on the other side of the screen as he verified them. He tapped
his fingers against his desk, visibly irritated. After all, the information Serena
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had sent him pertained to the prime minister himself.
"I'll take care of this here. The original documents?"
"The information on you has already been destroyed."
"It seems I've forced you to take on some additional work. I'll be sure to
thank you for it properly later."
"What would you like done with the rest of the documents? Brian isn't
sure how to proceed."
"What did the count have to say about them?"
"He wasn't interested."
The Observers had gathered information on a lot of nobles, not just the
prime minister. But Liam had entrusted the documents to Brian. This had left
Brian in a tough spot, and at his wits' end, unsure of what to do with the
information in his hands.
"Encourage him to hand it over to the Empire. I'll accept the material
myself. This is an opportunity to get some dirt on the nobles they investigated.
There's meaning in them just knowing that I have that information."
"You've got a nasty look in your eyes, again."
"It happens when you're prime minister. Now then, I should start cleaning
this up. Thanks for your stellar work, as always."
Serena bowed her head, relieved that the matter had been passed on to
him, and ended the call.
***
Once Derrick's funeral and the school year's closing ceremony were
behind us, we were ready to face our fourth year at school. First, though, there
would be a long, much-needed break. As a count, I headed back to my own
domain for the first time in a while, planning to relax.
"First time home in three years. Not much has changed."
I arrived home to find no notable differences to the scenery. The last time
I was gone for a few years, a lot had been different upon my return., This time,
the changes were meager.
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Wallace looked around at my mansion, luggage in hand. He'd come home
with me since he couldn't go back to the palace now that he wasn't a prince
anymore.
"Whew! I'm tired from that long journey. You'll get me some personal
attendants and guards, won't you, Liam? I'd love it if they were all beauties, too.
Young women, please. I had a hard time in the palace; it was all evil old hags.
I'd like lavish meals, too. I'm so sick of the frugal menus at the primary school."
What's with all the demands? Who does this guy think he is? He's my
underling!
Just as I was entertaining the notion of throwing him out, Serena walked
up to Wallace.
"It's been a long time, Your Highness Prince Wallace. May I ask who
these 'evil old hags' you refer to are?"
Serena wore a smile, but Wallace was trembling, looking aghast.
"Eeeeeeeeeek!"
Wallace screamed as if he'd seen a ghost, and Serena went on smiling
classily.
"My, that's not very polite, Your Ex-Highness. Am I some sort of ghoul?"
Wallace ducked behind me. "I-I'd rather see a ghoul! Liam, what's the
head maid doing here?"
"Why wouldn't she be here? We hired her."
"You hired her? Serena? Why?!"
I guess Wallace isn't too fond of Serena. Looks like I'll be putting her in
charge of taking care of him over the break, then.
I finished dealing with Wallace and turned around, smiling at the
appearance of the guest of honor. I couldn't see my own face, but I was sure my
grin was positively wicked.
Behind Wallace and myself trailed a very uncomfortable-looking Rosetta.
I'd forced her to come home with me for the long break.
Among the group welcoming us home was House Claudia's head and
former head, Rosetta's mother and grandmother. The two of them came over to
me and thanked me tearfully.
"I don't know how to thank you, my lord," gushed her mother.
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"I'm so glad we were able to meet you like this," said her grandmother.
I didn't know what Brian had said to convince them of agreeing to the
engagement, but they seemed to trust me with all their hearts. I was amused by
the humility the two women showed me, but Rosetta looked rather flustered.
Hey, wait, shouldn't you be a bit more arrogant? I wanted her to act more
openly frustrated. I jerked my chin to signal Serena, and she guided the two
older women over to Rosetta.
When the three of them were reunited, they embraced and cried, overcome
with emotion. This isn't really what I was expecting... I thought she'd sob
something like, "He's taking our peerage! I'm so sorry, Mother, Grandmother!"
Instead, she just seems happy about seeing them again. Well, I guess that's fine
for now. The real fun's yet to come, after all.
And the three women weren't the only ones crying... Brian was weeping
as well, as he watched their emotional reunion from a slight distance.
"What an auspicious day it was when your engagement was made official,
Master Liam. I'm so happy, I could just cry. Oh, and this touching reunion! I
know an old man like myself should hardly be carrying on this way, but I just
can't help it!"
"You're always crying. Would you cut it out already? Nobody wants to
see a dude cry."
It was the first time I had seen Brian in a while, and I gave him my
unvarnished opinion. He seemed a little happy about it.
"I'm so grateful for your cold reception! This is the way Master Liam
must be!"
Brian would apparently be happy with whatever I said to him. I turned
from him and searched for Amagi, who should have been waiting for me. I
finally spotted her among the maid robots waiting in the back and I wondered
why she hadn't come forward. What was she lingering back there for?
"Amagi, we're going to my room," I told her as I started in that direction,
but she seemed hesitant.
"Is that all right, Master?"
"Is what all right?"
It wasn't like Amagi to be acting so uncertain, but I found it rather cute. I
forced her to come along with me anyway.
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"Whatever, just come on. I have some stuff I want to ask you."
"Very well, sir."
***
As he watched Liam head for his room, Wallace wasn't sure what to think.
"I guess that rumor about him liking dolls was true."
Robots equipped with artificial intelligence like Amagi were a subject of
scorn throughout the Empire. Nobles in particular tended to be prejudiced
against them and would never keep them so close.
Her face grave, Serena cleared her throat and gave Wallace a warning.
"Lord Wallace, if you would rather not meet your end in this mansion, I suggest
not uttering the word 'doll' in Amagi's vicinity. Master Liam will not allow
anyone to insult Amagi. Your head will roll, and I don't mean that
metaphorically; I am being quite literal. Not even I would be able to protect
you."
Wallace nodded over and over again. "O-of course. I would never have
anything bad to say about Liam's personal preferences!"
Kurt and Eila mentioned this too, but I didn't think it was true! I better be
careful.
Wallace wasn't stupid enough to anger his precious patron.
"I would hope not," Serena said. "Speaking frankly, Master Liam is rather
eccentric, isn't he? I'm surprised he would become the patron of a man who has
nothing to offer him."
Wallace heaved a sigh at her. Huh? She has a rather low opinion of me,
doesn't she?
"Serena, I am still a former Imperial prince, you know."
"Of course. However, it's Master Liam I serve now. There's nothing odd
about me looking after the best interests of House Banfield, is there?"
"N-no."
"I'm glad you understand. Now then, I will endeavor to take the utmost
care of you as our very important guest, Lord Wallace."
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When he heard that Serena would be looking after him for the entirety of
his stay at House Banfield, Wallace sank to his knees on the spot...and openly
wept.
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